Follow This Extreme Adventurer Hike China’s Yangtze River

Ash Dykes, from Old Colwyn, is not new to adventure and, after venturing off the tourist trail in Vietnam to bike through the jungle (without a puncture repair kit!) he knew this was the life for him and that he wanted more extreme adventures. That was the beginning and since then he has conquered a trek across Mongolia, became the first person to trek solo and unsupported while pulling a trailer weighing 18 stone (252 lbs) through the Gobi Desert.

He also became the first person to hike the length of Madagascar.

“I remember on the Madagascar trip, my logistics manager warned me that there were some communities that had never seen a white person, and only heard rumors of torture after the French were there.”

On his journeys he has been held up at gun point by drunk militia, hours from death with Maleria, within earshot and eyeshot of packs of wolves and in the midst of unforgiving blizzards.

So, for his next adventure, he is heading off to Chaina to begin learning the Chinese culture and language. He will then travel to the mouth of the Yangtze river, which spans 4,000 miles and reaches an altitude of over 16,000 feet.

“Setting off from the river source in the Tibetan Plateau, he will face sub-zero temperatures as he treks across the Jianggendiru Glacier. He will travel over wetlands, mountains, valleys and through cities such as Shanghai, to reach the point where the river meets the East China Sea.”

When he completes the trek, it will mark his third world-first record. Follow Ash at https://www.ashdykes.com.